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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

20 weeks, and snake...surprise

20 weeks! And I'm not even wearing scrubs!

When I knew I was giving that talk at Wellesley, I took three vacation days this week--Monday and Tuesday to get there and back (if at all possible I like to limit all business-like travel to 24 hours, that way, it's not any different for the kids than me being on call) and Wednesday to decompress in case travel was awful. GOOD PLANNING, ME. Having the extra day off also allowed me to squeak in my 20 week OB appointment without too much logistical hassle, which was nice. I like making doctor's appointments for the morning if I can, because I figure it's less time for the practitioners to accumulate serial delays over the whole day of seeing people (they are inevitable, and really not their fault, especially if they are trying to do a good job with each patient), but because of my work schedule, usually I have to make appointments for the afternoon.

Also, I would like to point out (see above) that you can find plenty of maternity-ish tops in non-maternity sections, see that Old Navy tank up above. It probably won't work in another month or two, but generally (and this I found with my first two pregnancies as well) Old Navy and some other stores tend to cut their clothing overlarge and somewhat billowy, so what may be a really unflattering shape for a non-pregola (I would never have bought this shirt under other circumstances) works out great for the parturient, at least up through the second trimester. Also, non-maternity clothing tends to be cheaper, because it's not considered "specialty." More choices in cut and color too. I got a whole scad of these T-shirts when they were super on sale after Christmas (I ordered my usual size but in "Tall" so I could have a longer shirt-tail to cover the unfortunate elastic waisting of my pants) and they look much better than regular maternity T-shirts, which can tend to have more of a tent-like cut. Anyway! Girl talk! Clothes! Shopping! (These links are not sponsored, by the way, I just thought I'd share what I've learned from clothing myself these past three pregnancies. Especially since, not knowing what I know now, I gave ALL my maternity clothes to Goodwill this past Spring after we moved--like, SMOOTH MOVES, EX-LAX.)

Wait, what? You want to know about what? The...oh! Right. The ultrasound.

Let me say first that I really like this OB practice we're with. I was a little less than crazy about the group that we used for Mack (and obviously I'm not going to say who they were), but given that we've moved since then and would probably be delivering at a different hospital anyway, it was as good a time as any to switch practices. Anyway, this group is a bit smaller, more personal, and they spend quite a bit of time talking to their patients, which, even as a third-time-arounder, I really appreciate. Also, for all of the routine ultrasounds, an OB is actually doing the scan himself, which is very nice, especially since he really explains what he's looking at and isn't bound, like a tech, to not make diagnostic calls or say certain things for medicolegal reasons. Anyway, we like both doctors with this group a lot, and I think they are excellent clinicians.

And we got some really nice pictures. (Ignore the "Wondershare" watermark, it's just because I had to download some software to do the video file conversion blah blah blah nerd talk. CARRY ON.)

"Hey little guy! Look at him go!" said Joe, when he saw Thing 3 moving around. (I'd forgotten that he's only seen still images thus far.)

"Yeah, he's moving around a lot now," I confirmed. We walked through the head, the heart, the abdomen, the cord, looked at his little face, his arms, his legs, everything. "He looks great!"

"Yeah, he does," the OB, measuring this that or the other thing. "Although, if we keep calling him 'he,' I guess we should actually look at that part too, to confirm."

"Oh yeah. Sure, take another look."

"What did I say last time?" the OB asked, flipping through my chart. "We said boy?"

Also, I wanted to share vis a vis maternity clothes that I discovered that if I bought men's sweatshirts, as I went up in sizes they increased in girth, but not length, and thus accommodated my expanding midsection easily. I think I ended up wearing a mens medium, and it got kinda tight by the end of the third trimester. Probably this won't be super useful to you since you live in Hot-lanta though.

Yay! Congrats! I find your practical approach to baby clothing especially hilarious. Long before I knew I'd be paying off med. school loans until I die, I planned to clothe my future children in the finest Wal-mart and Kmart sale items. They're going to wear them all of twice before they outgrow them anyway.

Yay! What an exciting surprise! I was actually hoping this would happen... partly because it'll be fun to read about your perspective and partly because I'm hoping for a similar outcome next time (pregola with son #2 right now).

Now that I want to comment, I feel like I should apologize for "lurking" most of the time. Anyway. Congratulations on all-good scan results! (Sounds like I'm including the gender -- I'm not; I think it's great to find out at the 20-week scan, though.)

We have only girls. Girls look fantastic in blue and green. I never had pink anything in the house until the first baby; three years later we have a whole washer-load of red and pink. I make sure to buy some "boys'" clothes sometimes just for a break. If you have Polarn O. Pyret or The Children's Place in the US, I've found those to be useful sources of alternative colours that aren't attached "boy-specific" clothes.

Funny, when you said boy last time, I had this kind of odd perplexed feeling...like it had just seemed like you'd be having a girl to me...but then I just figured WHO AM I? and why on earth would I have any kind of feeling either way? I'm no one, so it was nothing more than me projecting and trying to be all psychic about it. not that i believe in that kind of thing. But as soon as I read this, that feeling went away and I am content again. SO HAPPY FOR YOU! YAY!!! You are so lucky!!! So is she. I'm very excited for the adventure you're embarking on. Congrats and hugs to you and all your boys! ♥

Congratulations!! This is super exciting news, couldn't be happier for you two :) You should definitely capture a video of the big gender reveal to Cal and Mack! I'd love to see how Cal reacts to the idea of being a big brother to a SISTER this time and whether Mack feels he should have had his chance of being a big brother to boy, hahaa!

Congratulations! I am even more vicariously thrilled for you because I didn't get a girl though of course I love my boys. Who I dressed in pink and purple on and off through toddlerhood because, like you say, they don't care. Best wishes for the rest of your pregnancy!

Wonderful news! I am so very happy for you! Of course the health of the baby is more important than anything but I think it is wonderful that you and your husband will get to experience raising both genders of children, and that your boys will each have a sister AND a brother. As someone who comes from a big family with both boys and girls, it really is wonderful to have both types of sibs! congrats again!!!!!

We are thrilled that you are getting a girl when the odd was only one percent based on the last scan. I can imagine her already in pink ballet tights, white totu and pink ballet slippers already,

Such great news. I was all ready for Alvin Simon and Theodore. Don't get me wrong, it will be nice to have three boys too, but a little variety is better. She is going to wrap Joe around her little finger. Just watch. She will be the Boss in the family.

Yay!! I'm so excited for you! I have three girls and one boy and have so enjoyed having some of each. It will be so fun to read about your experiences this time around. As a poster above said, I'm unreasonably excited for someone I've never even met! Congratulations!

Once I had an opinion in what clothes I could wear, I wore all my brother's hand me downs, so I'm pretty sure as a baby I would have appreciated some blue clothing. :) I think girls can wear dinosaurs too!

CONGRATULATIONS! That is wonderful! So excited for you. I have been following your blog since a recent discovery...a kind attending recommended I look up scutmonkey as I am currently on mat leave...Hope you will keep writing as you now have a new group of anaesthesia residents and moms who are following too...referrals in all ways... Siu-Kae

Congratulations! My girl also wore a lot of blue for her first six months. One tip: I couldn't tell some of the baby pictures apart from her brother's when I went back (five years later...) to organize digital photos. Throw a pair of Robeez on her so that you can tell the photos apart when you finally get to them years from now. ;)

Yay congrats!!! I was watching the first video and noticed that it was a girl, and am glad I got it right!! (I just did a month-long rotation in Ob ultrasound, hehe, so I better know how to get the sex right, dang it!). SOOO EXCITING!!!!

Congratulations on your healthy baby!! Long-time lurking reader creeping out of the shadows to suggest Naartjie Kids and Sweet Potatoes as great brands for cute, good quality, non-pink girls' clothing. They're on the pricier side, but I usually shop at sale time or on Zulily/Totsy. Most brands seem to have pink on every single piece of girls' clothes, and I got really tired of it after a few months. I look forward to seeing pictures of your beautiful, blue-clad little girl!

I am so happy for you and Joe that you will soon add a beautiful baby girl to your family. Is she going to be named a one syllable short name? Lots of good ones for girls...Hope, Reese, Kit, Faith..........

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